Written by

Gregory A. Hall
| (Louisville) Courier-Journal

It's not the $5 programs or the $7 beers. It's not even the $11 mint juleps.

Churchill Downs Inc. has been able to boost its Kentucky Derby week profits by $15.3 million over the past five years by charging thousands of dollars for the right to buy tickets - and charging hundreds, if not thousands, more for the tickets themselves.

The exact amount the company makes from its signature event remains a closely guarded secret, but a pie chart shown last year to investors gives some estimations of where those profits - before accounting for taxes and other factors - come from. And a Courier-Journal ...